Many people tend to ask what is an occupational therapist. An occupational therapist is a trained professional who assists people in resuming their normal activities in work and life after an accident or as the result of an illness. They trained in physical procedures and exercises that restore as much normal function as possible to injured people. They are also trained in psychological evaluation and treatment for people that are experiencing emotional or mental difficulties that interfere with their job or may interfere with the performance of their job in the future.
The role of an occupational therapist may be performed after an occupational or other injury, to prevent an injury that is occupationally related, to deal with an emotional or mental problem that may or may not be job related, and to work in schools with children that have an emotional, physical or mental handicap that could prevent them from becoming fully functional as an employee in later life.
The primary objective of an occupational therapist is to return a person to a normal level of physical, mental, or emotional competency so that they may resume their normal occupational activities. In the case of permanent disability where the person cannot resume their normal job function the disabled person is trained or retrained in a job that they can perform with the particular handicap they have experienced.
An occupational therapist is usually employed by a hospital or clinic that specializes in occupational therapy. Their employer refers the injured person to the hospital or clinic. The injured person undergoes a series of testing that is specific to their injury and a plan of rehabilitation is developed that takes into consideration the limits of the injured person’s future abilities to perform their job or another job.
In many cases, companies employ an occupational therapist directly. The primary objective in this role is the prevention of job related injury to the fullest extent possible. When a person is injured on the job, the treatment and rehabilitation program usually occur at the job site. This function is usually regarded as a benefit to the company and the employee.
An occupational therapist may deal with permanent disability patients, the elderly, children who have physical, mental, or emotional problems, and injured workers. The variety of work a therapist does is all designed to redevelop or to develop basic life, work, and living skills that are needed by the patient. The primary objective is to develop a treatment plan that allows the person to become as fully functional as possible despite the limitations imposed on them by injury, health, or disease.
What is an occupational therapist?
To sum it up, an occupational therapist is a highly skilled professional that must be trained in physical therapy, mental therapy, emotional therapy, and in some instances industrial accident prevention. The primary role is to access the extent of the injury or illness, access the limits the injury or illness imposes on a person’s ability to function in life or work, and to develop a customized workable plan of therapy that restores the injured person to as much normal function as is possible. Next time you ask yourself what is an occupational therapist, you can refer to this link to answer your question.
